Related Content

The massive fire was visible from tall buildings in downtown New Orleans.

The fire, in Bayou Perot near Lafitte, sparked about 6 p.m. Tuesday.

According to the Coast Guard, a tugboat owned by Settoon Towing struck the pipeline while pushing a 154-foot barge. Bayou Perot runs along the Jefferson Parish and Lafourche Parish line.

Christopher Areas owns a tugboat company and captains a boat. He said he was flooded with calls Tuesday from concerned friends.

"It's just frightening because the community knows that my tugboat company is right here in Lafitte, and when there's an incident, my phone just blew up (with) all kinds of friends of mine calling," he said.

The pipeline that was struck carried liquid petroleum gas. A representative for the Coast Guard said the pipeline has been shut off. However, there is 19 miles of pipeline in-between the two nearest shutoff points, and that fuel will still need to burn off.

Four people were on board the tugboat at the time of the fire. The captain received severe burns to more than 75 percent of his body, Coast Guard officials said.

The captain was taken to West Jefferson Medical Center for treatment and is listed in critical condition.

Another crew member was hurt when he jumped from the vessel. He was taken to a hospital and was listed as in good condition.

"He probably didn't even realize that he was on top the pipeline until after the explosion, because they're very poorly marked out there," Areas said.

Areas said because of wetland erosion, the bank has receded from where signs are posted to alert captains about pipelines.

"I wouldn't say it was the tugboat captain's fault, because what's under the surface of the water you can't see, and with the north wind that's been blowing for the past couple days, it's real shallow," he explained.

Concerns for nearby residents and fishermen now are whether the oil will continue to spill into the water.

Capt. Jonathan Burton said the barge was carrying 92,000 gallons of oil, but it doesn't appear that the oil is leaking. He did say sheen was spotted in the bayou, which could be from diesel fuel.

Burton said investigators haven't determined why the vessels hit the pipeline, which is owned by Chevron. Chevron has cut the flow of gas, but some still remains in the section of pipeline where the collision occurred.

An oil boom has been put in place to contain any oil that might have contaminated the water.

By Wednesday afternoon, the fire reportedly had reduced in size by approximately 30 percent, and there were no reports of oil in the water.